Jonas Lüscher (born 22 October 1976 in

Schlieren, Switzerland Schlieren (Zürich German ''Schlierä'') is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Dietikon (district), Dietikon in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. History The oldest Ar ...

) is a Swiss writer, including of essays and novels, living in Germany.

Early life

Lüscher grew up in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, where he later trained between 1994 and 1998 at the Muristalden Evangelical Teacher Training School (''Evangelisches Lehrerseminar Muristalden'') to qualify as a primary school teacher.

Career

He spent a few years as a

script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programs, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wit ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

for the

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

film industry. He then undertook studies at the

Munich School of Philosophy Munich School of Philosophy (German: ''Hochschule für Philosophie München'') is a small Jesuit higher education college in Munich, Germany founded in 1925. History Founded as a seminary at Pullach in 1925 by Augustin Bea, first named the Ber ...

from 2005 to 2009, earning a master's degree in 2009. At the same time, he was working as a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

editor. From 2009 to 2001, Lüscher researched ethics in science at the TTN Institute (Institut Technik-Theologie-Naturwissenschaften) at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. In 2011, Lüscher moved to the

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

(''Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich'' or ETH). There, he embarked on a dissertation under the supervision of philosopher Michael Hampe on the work of

Richard Rorty Richard McKay Rorty (October 4, 1931 – June 8, 2007) was an American philosopher, historian of ideas, and public intellectual. Educated at the University of Chicago and Yale University, Rorty's academic career included appointments as the Stu ...

. In 2012–13, Lüscher was awarded a grant by the Swiss government enabling him to spend nine months as a visiting researcher in the Comparative Literature Department at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. At the end of 2014, Lüscher left ETH without completing his dissertation. Lüscher is a member of the

PEN Centre Germany PEN Centre Germany is part of the worldwide association of writers founded in London in 1921, now known as PEN International. One of over 140 autonomous PEN centres around the world, PEN Centre Germany is based in Darmstadt, Hesse. Work PEN Ce ...

, and began living in Munich in 2001. His first novel, ''Frühling der Barbaren'' (''Barbarian Spring'', translated by Peter Lewis) was nominated in 2013 for both the Swiss Book Prize and the

German Book Prize The German Book Prize () is awarded annually, in October, by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association () to the best new German-language novel of the year. The books, published in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, are nominated by their ...

Selected works

* ''Jetzt''. Libretto for the opera by Mathis Nitschke, original production at the

Opéra National de Montpellier The Opéra national de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon () is an opera company located in the Place de la Comédie in Montpellier, France. The company was established in 1755 and was granted the status of "National Opera" in 2002 by the Minister ...

, 30 November 2012. * ''Frühling der Barbaren''. Novella.

C.H. Beck Verlag C. H. BECK oHG, established in 1763 by Carl Gottlob Beck, is one of Germany's oldest publishing houses. Historically, the company's headquarters were in Nördlingen. The initials of the founder's son and successor, Carl Heinrich Beck, su ...

, Munich 2013. translated by Peter Lewis as ''Barbarian Spring'',

Haus Publishing Haus Publishing is a London-based publishing company which was established in 2002. History Haus Publishing was founded in 2002 by Barbara Schwepcke, the former publisher of '' Prospect'' magazine. The publisher has a bookshop, BookHaus, on the ...

, London 2014. * ''Kraft.'' Novel.

, Munich 2017. , longlisted for the 2017

. Translated by

Tess Lewis Teresa D. Lewis is an American writer, essayist and literary translator from French and German. Her translation of Austrian poet and novelist Maja Haderlap's novel ''Angel of Oblivion'' was awarded the 2017 PEN Translation Prize, the Austrian Cultu ...

as ''Kraft'',

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

, New York, 2020. *

Awards

* 2013:

Franz-Hessel-Preis Franz-Hessel-Preis or Franz Hessel Prize for Contemporary Literature is a literary prize of France and Germany for French and German authors. The prize was created as a tribute to the writer and translator Franz Hessel. This Franco-German prize i ...

for ''Frühling der Barbaren'' * 2013: Literary Award of Kanton Bern * 2013:

Bayerischer Kunstförderpreis Bayerischer Kunstförderpreis is a Bavarian arts and literary prize. Selected winners Source: 2002 :Performing arts * Stefanie Dietrich (actress) * Barbara Schöller (actress) * Christian Hettkamp (actor) * Marc Oliver Schulze (actor) ...

* 2016:

Hans Fallada Prize The Hans Fallada Prize is a German literary prize given by the city of Neumünster in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Since 1981, it is typically awarded every two years to a young author from the German-speaking world. It is named in honor ...

for ''Frühling der Barbaren'' * 2017:

Schweizer Buchpreis The Swiss Book Prize () is a literary award awarded annually by a jury on behalf of the Swiss Booksellers' Association. The prize amount is CHF 30,000. The award was instituted in 2008 following the example of the German Book Prize. Only German l ...

(Swiss Book Award) for ''Kraft'' * 2022:

Max Frisch Prize The Max Frisch Prize of the City of Zürich, created in 1996, is usually awarded every four years to writers in German-speaking countries. The prize is named after the Swiss writer Max Frisch (1911–1991). The literary award is endowed with a priz ...

* 2025:

Rheingau Literatur Preis Rheingau Literatur Preis is a literary prize of Hesse. It is awarded annually since 1994 by the which follows the Rheingau Musik Festival. An author is awarded whose prose gained the attention of the literary critics ("") The prize of 11,111 Eu ...

for ''Verzauberte Vorbestimmung''"Rheingau Literatur Preis 2025 für Jonas Lüscher".
wdr.de, 24 April 2025 (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2025.

Literature

* Stefan Hofer-Krucker ''Valderrama: Die perpetuierte Katastrophe. Globalisierung und ihre Schattenseiten in Jonas Lüschers "Frühling der Barbaren". Mit einigen literaturdidaktischen Anmerkungen''. In: Almut Hille, Sabine Jambon, Marita Meyer (Eds.): ''Globalisierung – Natur – Zukunft erzählen. Aktuelle deutschsprachige Literatur für die Internationale Germanistik und das Fach Deutsch als Fremdsprache''. , Munich 2015, pp. 39–57. * * Yvonne Hütter
Ethics and Aesthetics in Jonas Lüscher’s "Barbarian Spring"
In: Primerjalna književnost, No. 40.2, 2017, pp. 149–163

References

External links

Literature by and about Jonas Lüscher in the Catalogue of the German National Library

Jonas Lüscher at C.H. Beck

Jonas Lüscher at ''literaturhaus:basel''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luscher, Jonas 1976 births Living people 21st-century Swiss dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Swiss male writers 21st-century Swiss novelists 21st-century screenwriters ETH Zurich alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Opera librettists People from Schlieren, Switzerland Swiss Book Prize winners Swiss editors Swiss expatriates in Germany Swiss librettists Swiss male dramatists and playwrights Swiss male novelists Swiss male screenwriters Writers from Bern Writers from Munich